Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. The misapplication of a word or phrase, as the use of blatant to mean "flagrant.”
- n. The use of a strained figure of speech, such as a mixed metaphor.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. A figure by which one word is wrongly put for another, or by which a word is wrested from its true signification; as, “To take arms against a sea of troubles”. Shak. “Her voice was but the shadow of a sound.” Young.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In rhet.: A figure by which a word is used to designate an object, idea, or act to which it can be applied only by an exceptional or undue extension of its proper sphere of meaning: as, to stone (pelt) a person with bricks; a palatable tone; to display one's horsemanship in riding a mule; to drink from a horn of ivory.
- n. In philology, the employment of a word under a false form through misapprehension in regard to its origin: thus, causeway and crawfish or crayfish have their forms by catachresis.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. strained or paradoxical use of words either in error (as `blatant' to mean `flagrant') or deliberately (as in a mixed metaphor: `blind mouths')
Etymologies
Examples
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Poetic licence aside, catachresis is often just a mistake, as we have seen, e.g. flaunt for flout, ecliptic for eclectic.
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Definitional inconsistencies notwithstanding, catachresis is a fascinating feature of language.
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A species of metaphor, catachresis is a "strained," "abused," or "perverted" use of language that names what otherwise has no name (a table leg,
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The word catachresis arrived, through the Latin word of the same spelling, from the Greek katakhrēsis, excessive use, from katakhrēsthai, to misuse or use up.
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As telling as the term catachresis would be the word setzen.
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You must listen to the definition of a catachresis: -- 'A catachresis is the boldest of any trope.
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From now on I shall try to avoid to call a catachresis, what after I’ve been moving to my last dwelling six feet under might be comme il fault.
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Grammatical catachresis seems to include lexical catachresis, which he illustrates with examples such as infer for imply, and refute for deny, contradict (without argument).
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The OED defines catachresis as ‘(An instance of) the incorrect use of words’.
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Some authorities describe catachresis as the deterioration of a word, but it can also be described more neutrally as semantic drift, which is an inescapable characteristic of any language.
ruzuzu commented on the word catachresis
" In philology, the employment of a word under a false form through misapprehension in regard to its origin: thus, causeway and crawfish or crayfish have their forms by catachresis." --Cent. Dict.
June 12, 2012
fbharjo commented on the word catachresis
sightful bats dancing
April 19, 2009
slumry commented on the word catachresis
From American Heritage Dictionary:
1. The misapplication of a word or phrase, as the use of blatant to mean "flagrant."
2. The use of a strained figure of speech, such as a mixed metaphor.
July 23, 2007